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Related to: 'Waterstones Children's Book Prize'

riverrun

Asking For It

Louise O'Neill

Authors:

Louise O'Neill

'A soul-shattering novel that will leave your emotions raw. This story will haunt me forever. Everyone should read it' Guardian In a small town where everyone knows everyone, Emma O'Donovan is different. She is the special one - beautiful, popular, powerful. And she works hard to keep it that way. Until that night . . . Now, she's an embarrassment. Now, she's just a slut. Now, she is nothing.And those pictures - those pictures that everyone has seen - mean she can never forget. For fans of Caitlin Moran, Marian Keyes and Jodi Picoult. BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2015. The award-winning, bestselling novel about the life-shattering impact of sexual assault, rape and how victims are treated. (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd

Bookshops

Jorge Carrión

Authors:

Jorge Carrión

Why do bookshops matter? How do they filter our ideas and literature? In this inventive and highly entertaining extended essay, Jorge Carrion takes his reader on a journey around the world, via its bookshops. His travels take him to Shakespeare & Co in Paris, Wells in Winchester, Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Librairie des Colonnes in Tangier, the Strand Book Store in New York and provoke encounters with thinkers, poets, dreamers, revolutionaries and readers. Bookshops is the travelogue of a lucid and curious observer, filled with anecdotes and stories from the universe of writing, publishing and selling books. A bookshop in Carrion's eyes never just a place for material transaction; it is a meeting place for people and their ideas, a setting for world changing encounters, a space that can transform lives.Written in the midst of a worldwide recession, Bookshops examines the role of these spaces in today's evershifting climate of globalisation, vanishing high streets, e-readers and Amazon. But far from taking a pessimistic view of the future of the physical bookshop, Carrion makes a compelling case for hope, underlining the importance of these places and the magic that can happen there. A vital manifesto for the future of the traditional bookshop, and a delight for all who love them.Translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush

A Yorkshire Tragedy

Anthony Clavane

Authors:

Anthony Clavane

THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PROMISED LAND AND DOES YOUR RABBI KNOW YOU'RE HERE? SETS HIS FOCUS TO YORKSHIRE, AND ITS ENDANGERED STATUS AS A SPORTING POWERHOUSE.'If you want to know how it feels to be left behind, if you want to know how it feels to be forgotten, if you want to know how it feels to be heartbroken, then read this book' David PeaceFor the past 30 years, something has been missing from British sport. For some it has lost its heart and soul. Anthony Clavane argues that it has lost its Yorkshireness, which possibly amounts to the same thing.A Yorkshire Tragedy is the final part of Anthony Clavane's triptych that examines belonging, identity and the rise and fall of tightly knit sporting communities through the prism of the author's own personal experience.Loved A Yorkshire Tragedy? Then check out Does Your Rabbi Know You're Here? - Anthony Clavane's highly acclaimed history of Jewish involvement in English football.

Sleeping on Jupiter

Anuradha Roy

Authors:

Anuradha Roy

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015 AND WINNER OF THE 2016 DSC PRIZE FOR SOUTH ASIAN LITERATUREA stark and unflinching novel by a spellbinding storyteller, about religion, love and violence in the modern world.A train stops at a railway station. A young woman jumps off. She has wild hair, sloppy clothes, a distracted air. She looks Indian, yet she is somehow not. The sudden violence of what happens next leaves the other passengers gasping.The train terminates at Jarmuli, a temple town by the sea. Here, among pilgrims, priests and ashrams, three old women disembark only to encounter the girl once again. What is someone like her doing in this remote corner, which attracts only worshippers?Over the next five days, the old women live out their long-planned dream of a holiday together; their temple guide finds ecstasy in forbidden love; and the girl is joined by a photographer battling his own demons.The full force of the evil and violence beneath the serene surface of the town becomes evident when their lives overlap and collide. Unexpected connections are revealed between devotion and violence, friendship and fear, as Jarmuli is revealed as a place with a long, dark past that transforms all who encounter it.

Cursed

Sue Tingey

Authors:

Sue Tingey

Lucky's being wooed by Jinx, the sexy Deathbringer and Jamie, the gorgeous Guardian, so the daemon world isn't too bad. But before Lucky can really start to enjoy her new life in the Underlands, Kayla's men are slain and Kayla herself is kidnapped by the Sicarii, assassins-for-hire members of a death-cult.Lucky's nemesis Henri le Dent has somehow escaped the Chambers of Rectification and court torturer Amaliel Cheriour is also missing . . . and daemon princess Kayla is just bait to catch Lucky.For Lucky's own powers are growing, and Amaliel has his own nefarious paln to use her. But first, he has to get past her Guards, not to mention Lucky herself . . .'Check it out', says The Reading Agency, Amazon Rising Star Tingey is 'perfect for fans of Laini Taylor, Deborah Harkness and Anne Bishop'.

The Book of Aron

Jim Shepard

Authors:

Jim Shepard

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE AWARD**'Powerful . . . shattering . . . a masterpiece' The Times'Testament of love and sacrifice . . . a masterpiece' Joshua Ferris, Guardian'Transcendent and timeless . . . masterpiece' Washington PostAron is a nine-year-old Polish Jew, and a troublemaker. His mother despairs of him. His father beats him. He tries to be good. But in 1939, as the walls go up around the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, as lice and typhus rage, families starve and fight, it is Aron who finds a way - however dangerous, however treacherous - to survive. It isn't until he lands at the feet of Janusz Korczak - orphanage director and reluctant hero - that he learns of something greater than survival.**With new exclusive endmatter, featuring a biography of Korczak and questions for book clubs**

Only Ever Yours

Louise O'Neill

Authors:

Louise O'Neill

'Utterly magnificent . . . gripping, accomplished and dark' Marian KeyesWINNER: Newcomer of the Year at the IBAs WINNER: Bookseller YA Prize WINNER: CBI Eilis Dillon Award Buzzfeed's Best Books Written by Women in 2014The bestselling novel about beauty, body image and betrayaleves are designed, not made. The School trains them to be prettyThe School trains them to be good.The School trains them to Always be Willing.All their lives, the eves have been waiting. Now, they are ready for the outside world.companion . . . concubine . . . or chastityOnly the best will be chosen.And only the Men decide.

A Book of Scars

William Shaw

Taming the Infinite

Ian Stewart

Lullabies for Little Criminals

Heather O'Neill

Authors:

Heather O'Neill

'Like Angela Carter, she is relentlessly inventive' Sunday Times'Full of pathos, spirit and iridescent innocence' Independent on SundayThe first novel by the author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel12-year-old Baby is used to turmoil in her life. Her mother is long dead, her father is a junkie and they shuttle between rotting apartments and decrepit downtown hotels. As her father's addiction and paranoia grow worse, she begins a journey that will lead her through chaos and hardship; but Baby's remarkable strength of spirit enables her to survive. Smart, funny and determined to lift herself off the city's dirty streets, she knows that the only person she can truly rely upon is herself.

Stocking Fillers

By George, these nifty little books have shot straight to the top of many-a-Christmas-list this year, and are guaranteed to go down well with a mince pie or two.
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a number of new adult challenges, like finding a decent gluten-free cream tea, surviving an unbearable work strategy away day and navigating the murky waters of parenthood!
The Five Go series is available to buy online at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
Next on the Chirstmas list we have the book that accompanies the hilarious, massively successful My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast: the ultimate, annotated edition of Belinda Blinked. Rocky Flintstone's now-legendary porno (sorry, erotic novel), became a sensation thanks to the outrageously funny podcast created by his son and two friends, who week on week read (and critiqued) chapters of the book. Adored by legions of fans, My Dad Wrote a Porno has been downloaded over ten million times - and we've made it into a steamy book once again.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
Up for a challenge in 2017? Why not learn to play the piano? We've got just the book you need - How to Play the Piano by James Rhodes.
An accessible and inspiring guide by the pianist and international bestselling writer James Rhodes, who promises that this book gives anyone with two hands, a piano or an electric keyboard and just 45 minutes a day the tools they need to learn to play Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major in 6 weeks, even if they know nothing about music and have never even touched a piano before.
Available at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.
Dust off your axes, it's back! The interactive follow up to last year's Christmas sensation Norwegian Wood is available to anyone looking ro get crafty this Christmas. An original gift for all seasons and the perfect fireside companion, The Norwegian Wood Activity Book, with it's bespoke wooden finish, will bring warmth and entertainment to armchair enthusiasts and active woodcutters alike.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon, Wordery and from your local indepdent bookshop.
The Most Wondeful Time of the Year is a hilarious and heartwarming Christmas comedy from Joanna Bolouri, the bestselling author of The List. It's perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Kat French and Lindsey Kelk, and will have you laughing all the way to New Year!
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
What is more irresistible than an adorable puppy looking for a home and a family to love him? NOT MUCH! The Christmas Guest is a touching story of Teddy, the little lost puppy who appears on a family's doorstep covered in snow just before Christmas. Turns out, the family need Teddy as much as he needs them,and they might just have made each others Christmas wishes come true.
Available to buy at Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.
Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a kitsch novelty knit - now you can make your own with these, fast, easy, no-knit ideas for one-of-a-kind Christmas jumpers. Make Your Own Christmas Jumper by super-crafter and blogger Nicolette Lafonseca is a wonderful gift for that crafty someone. With all styles covered - be it glitzy and glam, twee and tasteless, laugh-out-loud or cute as a button - you're sure to find your perfect Christmas look, not to mention all the sequins, pompoms and twinkly lights your heart could desire.
Available to buy from Waterstones, WHSmith, Wordery, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.

Stocking Fillers

By George, these nifty little books have shot straight to the top of many-a-Christmas-list this year, and are guaranteed to go down well with a mince pie or two.
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a number of new adult challenges, like finding a decent gluten-free cream tea, surviving an unbearable work strategy away day and navigating the murky waters of parenthood!
The Five Go series is available to buy online at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
Next on the Chirstmas list we have the book that accompanies the hilarious, massively successful My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast: the ultimate, annotated edition of Belinda Blinked. Rocky Flintstone's now-legendary porno (sorry, erotic novel), became a sensation thanks to the outrageously funny podcast created by his son and two friends, who week on week read (and critiqued) chapters of the book. Adored by legions of fans, My Dad Wrote a Porno has been downloaded over ten million times - and we've made it into a steamy book once again.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
Up for a challenge in 2017? Why not learn to play the piano? We've got just the book you need - How to Play the Piano by James Rhodes.
An accessible and inspiring guide by the pianist and international bestselling writer James Rhodes, who promises that this book gives anyone with two hands, a piano or an electric keyboard and just 45 minutes a day the tools they need to learn to play Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major in 6 weeks, even if they know nothing about music and have never even touched a piano before.
Available at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.
Dust off your axes, it's back! The interactive follow up to last year's Christmas sensation Norwegian Wood is available to anyone looking ro get crafty this Christmas. An original gift for all seasons and the perfect fireside companion, The Norwegian Wood Activity Book, with it's bespoke wooden finish, will bring warmth and entertainment to armchair enthusiasts and active woodcutters alike.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon, Wordery and from your local indepdent bookshop.
The Most Wondeful Time of the Year is a hilarious and heartwarming Christmas comedy from Joanna Bolouri, the bestselling author of The List. It's perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Kat French and Lindsey Kelk, and will have you laughing all the way to New Year!
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
What is more irresistible than an adorable puppy looking for a home and a family to love him? NOT MUCH! The Christmas Guest is a touching story of Teddy, the little lost puppy who appears on a family's doorstep covered in snow just before Christmas. Turns out, the family need Teddy as much as he needs them, and they might just have made each others Christmas wishes come true.
Available to buy at Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.
Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a kitsch novelty knit - now you can make your own with these, fast, easy, no-knit ideas for one-of-a-kind Christmas jumpers. Make Your Own Christmas Jumper by super-crafter and blogger Nicolette Lafonseca is a wonderful gift for that crafty someone. With all styles covered - be it glitzy and glam, twee and tasteless, laugh-out-loud or cute as a button - you're sure to find your perfect Christmas look, not to mention all the sequins, pompoms and twinkly lights your heart could desire.
Available to buy from Waterstones, WHSmith, Wordery, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.

Have a Classy Christmas

UNDER A POLE STAR
Stef Penney returns to the wild Arctic landscape she portrayed so beautifully in her debut The Tenderness of Wolves, to bring us the story of ‘The Snow Queen’ Flora Mackie and her Geologist beau Jakob de Beyn. Their paths cross on the frozen landscape of Greenland whilst on opposing expeditions, yet they have an instant connection that has the power to transcend any distance between them. A passionate love affair, and a couple of trips back to the North later, and it seems nothing can tear Flora and Jakob apart. Until…
Set against the stark, timeless beauty of northern Greenland, and fin-de-siècle New York and London, Under a Pole Star is a compelling look at the dark side of the ‘golden age’ of exploration, a study of the corrosive power of ambition, and an epic, incendiary love story. It shows that sometimes you have to travel to the furthest edge of the world in order to find your true place in it.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon, Hive and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
THE BOOK OF TIDES
An idiosyncratic, richly illustrated guide to Britain's rivers, seas and shores, for everyone who loves the water and the natural world - a Norwegian Wood for Britain's waters.
Both graphically beautiful and lyrically written, The Book of Tides is a unique and essential book, ideal for anyone who knows and loves the British coast, and who wants to understand, discover, surf, or sail it better. Inspired by his own witnessing of the power of the sea through travelling around Britain's coastline in a panel van with his young family, William Thomson tells the story of the cycles of the sea. He combines a lyrical, passionate narrative with graphically beautiful renderings of the main forms of water which affect Britain: Rip, Rapids, Swell, Stream, Tide, Wave, Whirlpool, Tsunami.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdent bookshop.
(photo credit: West End Lane Books)
BILL BAILEY'S REMARKABLE GUIDE TO BRITISH BIRDS
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds is all about comedian Bailey's love of birds. A visual feast - it is packed with illustrations, sketches and notes by Bailey - as well as informative, it is funny and insightful, and positively crackles with energy, knowledge and wit as he takes us on a journey around the British isles, zooming in on those birds that enthuse him the most.
A beautifully and originally designed hardback, it will delight Bailey's fans as well as those who like a bit of armchair escapism.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon, Hive and from your local independent bookshop
THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF NOT GIVING A F**K: CHRISTMAS EDITION
It was the 'self help with an edge' book of 2016 (Vogue said that, so you know this thing's legit) - and now it's back with a gorgeous new jacket to help you give fewer, better f**ks this Christmas!
A genius parody of the bestselling The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Sarah Knight's no nonsense guide to focussing on the things in your life that make you happy, and giving way less of your time and energy to the things that don't, will help to revolutionalise your thinking. From family dramas to having a bikini body, the simple 'NotSorry Method' for mental decluttering will help you unleash the power of not giving a f**k and will free you to spend your time, energy and money on the things that really matter.
This festive red edition will sit perfectly in any stocking, and would make an ideal office secret santa gift for that stressed colleague...
Available to buy from Waterstones, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
NO PICNIC ON MOUNT KENYA
A classic tale of derring-do: The Great Escape meets Touching the Void
No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a rediscovered mountaineering classic and the extraordinary true story of a daring escape up Mount Kenya by three prisoners of war. It's a remarkable story of three incredibly brave men with an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea. It is also a powerful testament to the human spirit of revolt and adventure in even the darkest of places. A Waterstones non-fiction Book of the Month, No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a terrific gift for the adventurous type, yet equally for the armchair traveller!
Available to buy from Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
NORWEGIAN WOOD
Whether you're a seasoned woodcutter, or your passion is yet to be kindled, Norwegian Wood is the perfect fireside read, and an ideal seasonal gift.
Last year's runaway bestseller is back to take over Christmas once again! Teaching you everything you need to know about chopping, stacking and drying wood - the Scandinavian way - this is truly 'a how-to book with poetry at its heart'(TLS). For Lars Mytting, our relationship to fire is so ancient, so universal, it seems that in learning about wood, you can also learn about life.
Available to but at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local independent bookshop.
(photo credit: Abrams Books)

2015 YA Bookseller prize winner

When looking for that special someone, we've put in the extra effort so you don't have to!

Have a Classy Christmas

UNDER A POLE STAR
Stef Penney returns to the wild Arctic landscape she portrayed so beautifully in her debut The Tenderness of Wolves, to bring us the story of ‘The Snow Queen’ Flora Mackie and her Geologist beau Jakob de Beyn. Their paths cross on the frozen landscape of Greenland whilst on opposing expeditions, yet they have an instant connection that has the power to transcend any distance between them. A passionate love affair, and a couple of trips back to the North later, and it seems nothing can tear Flora and Jakob apart. Until…
Set against the stark, timeless beauty of northern Greenland, and fin-de-siècle New York and London, Under a Pole Star is a compelling look at the dark side of the ‘golden age’ of exploration, a study of the corrosive power of ambition, and an epic, incendiary love story. It shows that sometimes you have to travel to the furthest edge of the world in order to find your true place in it.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon, Hive and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
THE BOOK OF TIDES
An idiosyncratic, richly illustrated guide to Britain's rivers, seas and shores, for everyone who loves the water and the natural world - a Norwegian Wood for Britain's waters.
Both graphically beautiful and lyrically written, The Book of Tides is a unique and essential book, ideal for anyone who knows and loves the British coast, and who wants to understand, discover, surf, or sail it better. Inspired by his own witnessing of the power of the sea through travelling around Britain's coastline in a panel van with his young family, William Thomson tells the story of the cycles of the sea. He combines a lyrical, passionate narrative with graphically beautiful renderings of the main forms of water which affect Britain: Rip, Rapids, Swell, Stream, Tide, Wave, Whirlpool, Tsunami.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Hive, Amazon and from your local indepdent bookshop.
(photo credit: West End Lane Books)
BILL BAILEY'S REMARKABLE GUIDE TO BRITISH BIRDS
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds is all about comedian Bailey's love of birds. A visual feast - it is packed with illustrations, sketches and notes by Bailey - as well as informative, it is funny and insightful, and positively crackles with energy, knowledge and wit as he takes us on a journey around the British isles, zooming in on those birds that enthuse him the most.
A beautifully and originally designed hardback, it will delight Bailey's fans as well as those who like a bit of armchair escapism.
Available to buy at Waterstones, Amazon, Hive and from your local independent bookshop
THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF NOT GIVING A F**K: CHRISTMAS EDITION
It was the 'self help with an edge' book of 2016 (Vogue said that, so you know this thing's legit) - and now it's back with a gorgeous new jacket to help you give fewer, better f**ks this Christmas!
A genius parody of the bestselling The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Sarah Knight's no nonsense guide to focussing on the things in your life that make you happy, and giving way less of your time and energy to the things that don't, will help to revolutionalise your thinking. From family dramas to having a bikini body, the simple 'NotSorry Method' for mental decluttering will help you unleash the power of not giving a f**k and will free you to spend your time, energy and money on the things that really matter.
This festive red edition will sit perfectly in any stocking, and would make an ideal office secret santa gift for that stressed colleague...
Available to buy from Waterstones, Amazon and from your local indepdendent bookshop.
NO PICNIC ON MOUNT KENYA
A classic tale of derring-do: The Great Escape meets Touching the Void
No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a rediscovered mountaineering classic and the extraordinary true story of a daring escape up Mount Kenya by three prisoners of war. It's a remarkable story of three incredibly brave men with an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea. It is also a powerful testament to the human spirit of revolt and adventure in even the darkest of places. A Waterstones non-fiction Book of the Month, No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a terrific gift for the adventurous type, yet equally for the armchair traveller!
Available to buy from

LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO

Pianist and international bestselling writer James Rhodes, promises that How to Play the Piano gives anyone with two hands, a piano or an electric keyboard and just 45 minutes a day the tools they need to learn to play Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major in 6 weeks, even if they know nothing about music or playing the piano.
Sound like a challenge you’d love to take up? Along with Waterstones, James is offering one person the chance to get an early copy of the book, along with a Casio CTK-6200 Full Size Piano Style Keyboard, complete with a stand, sustain pedal and stool. You’ll have everything you need to learn a wonderful new skill. Keep us and James up to date on how you’re doing through Facebook or Twitter – we’d love to know!
Here’s James himself to tell you more: >
To enter, just tweet @quercusbook or post on facebook.com/quercusbooks why you’d love to learn the piano using the hashtag #HowToPlaythePiano. Is it the chance to make good on those school day lessons? Or would you love to learn a new skill? Or would you just like to surprise everyone with your mastery of Bach’s Prelude No.1! Whatever the reason, let us know by 11.59pm on 17th September.

Chris Salewicz at Waterstones Islington

6pm

Chris Salewicz at Waterstones Islington

6pm

Q&A with Elly and Keith Walters

Elly Griffiths tells us about her fourth novel in the Ruth Galloway Investigation series, a possible BBC adaptation, and why she hates Time Team
In A Room Full of Bones, new mother and forensic archeologist Ruth finds a museum curator dead ahead of the opening of a new medieval bones exhibition.
How have the character dynamics changed now that Ruth Galloway’s one-year-old daughter Kate is around?
It feels like a real privilege to have the time and space to develop the characters. It does get easier but I have to say that Kate was a challenge. I wanted her to be a distinct presence in Ruth’s life – every parent knows that a baby disrupts your life completely – but I didn’t want the books to become diatribes about the hardships of being a single parent.
Are museums somewhere you spend a lot of time?
I used to live in South London and visited the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill a few times. I have to say, though, that the museum that influenced me most is the Booth Museum in Hove. It’s very near my old school and I remember many happy stolen hours staring at the Great Auk...
Was it always your intention to make Ruth dissimilar to traditional female detectives, with her clumsiness and weight issues?
I just wanted to make her real. It wasn’t until after the book was published that I realised how many crime heroines were, in essence, superwomen – looking beautiful, cooking gourmet meals, running twenty miles before breakfast. Ruth could certainly eat a gourmet meal but she would struggle with the rest.
Are the Rebus and Springsteen references in the books favourites of yours, as they appear to be the books and CDs of choice to Ruth Galloway? Do you have a favourite Boss album?
Yes, I’m a big fan of both Ian Rankin and Bruce Springsteen. My favourite Springsteen album is Born to Run and my favourite track is Thunder Road.
Are there any crime writers who have been a particular help or influence when you started out?
I hadn’t read a lot of crime novels when I wrote The Crossing Places. My biggest influences were probably Victorian writers like Wilkie Collins. Since then I have met quite a few stars of the crime world and they have all been incredibly friendly and supportive. Val McDermid, in particular, has been delightful. Crime writers seem particularly charming. Maybe they exorcise all their demons in their books. I don’t know any Brighton-based writers, though I did meet Peter James when we were both shortlisted for the same award.
You featured a location map in the first book, The Crossing Places, are there any plans to get maps into any future books?
I love drawing maps and managed to get one into The House at Sea’s End. I think every book should have a map at the front.
How do you write?
My system hasn’t really changed. I write a rough chapter-by-chapter outline and then go for it. I write for about three hours a day and the rest of the time it’s going round in my head. I hope my plots have got a bit better as I’ve gone on though.
Is Ruth going to be brought to the TV screen?
The BBC has expressed interest, but I don’t think I’m allowed to say more than that. I would love to see Ruth on TV. Not sure who would play her, though...
The location of your books is fantastic and they all give a tremendous sense of place - but could you ever see yourself writing Ruth into Brighton, or writing a standalone novel in Brighton? Or is your hometown too crowded with fictional crime already?
Peter James does have Brighton sewn up and I’m sure I couldn’t better him. I do have a vague idea about a historical crime novel set in Brighton, though. My granddad was a music hall comedian and I’d love to write about that world. Ruth has no plans to leave Norfolk, although in book five she does visit Blackpool.
Why does Ruth not like Time Team?
Well, I have a bit of a grudge against Time Team, as my husband had a well-paid city job before he started watching it and now he’s a poorly-paid archaeologist! I think it’s a great programme, but Ruth, being a professional, would be rather sniffy about it (whilst, at the same time, watching it avidly).
What can we look forward to next from Ruth Galloway or from Elly Griffiths?
I’ve almost finished book five, which will be about Roman remains found near Blackpool. It takes Ruth into Nelson’s territory and, of course, into danger. I’ve already got a pretty good idea for Book 6. After that, who knows?
A Room Full of Bones is out tomorrow, published by Quercus.